Artpark: Emilie Renier and John Barsoian preview 'Mary Poppins'

Artpark &
Company will present the popular Disney musical "Mary Poppins" July 31 through
Aug. 8 inside the Mainstage Theater.

Leads Emilie
Renier and John Barsoian met last weekend at The Orange Cat in Lewiston to
drink coffee and preview the show.

Both Elon
University-trained actors have performed at Artpark before, with Renier taking
the lead in "Cinderella" (2012) and "The Sound of Music" (2013), and Barsoian a
member of "The Sound of Music" ensemble.

"We're very, very
lucky, because this is a great theater," Renier said. "And you don't, really,
find theaters like this all the time."

You've both been here before. What do
you think of Lewiston?

Emilie: I love Mangia. When we were staying at the Barton, I
went every morning to Mangia. Like, they knew who I was; they knew my favorite
food. It was a little embarrassing, but also wonderful.

I
love Lewiston. (It's) one of my favorite places ever. I always say I'd come
back here just to vacation. It feels like the small town where everybody knows
each other. I love it. It's so cute. And the water's right there. We came down
and ate at The Silo the other night. And, you know, there's a band playing; and
everybody's happy; and the food is good; and the water is beautiful; and birds
are chirping.

It's
like this little piece of Heaven.

John: When we came down to start working at Artpark, we would always go to
Mangia in the morning. We would get coffee here (at The Orange Cat). It reminds
me - we used to have a cottage in Boothbay Harbor in Maine. And it's this
really small town where everyone knows each other. And it reminds me a lot of
that, where there's really no chain restaurant. It's all like ... family owned.

It
makes you feel like you're a part of the community. You love that. You feel so
much more grounded.

Emilie: I love that you can go into a place and, after a
while, they know your favorite coffee or breakfast. I love that. The show
"Gilmore Girls" - this town reminds me of that show.

John: It's just more intimate; it's more personal.

Emilie: I love it. I live in New York City now, so having
this little piece of Heaven is really important, I think.

What do you do in between Artpark
seasons? It sounds like a silly question, but so many people, they will have
seen you (Emilie) three times in a row; they will see you (John) two times in a
row. They probably don't know what you do in between Artpark seasons. What is
your life like the rest of the year?

Emilie: This past year I've been on the national tour of
"Beauty and the Beast." So my past year has been traveling, which has been
amazing. But it's really nice to be in one place for four weeks!

It's
opened my eyes. It's been national, so I've seen this whole country in nine
months, which is incredible.

What
an awful job I have! That I get to travel and do what I love and entertain
people and get paid for it is pretty cool.

John: I'm still in school, so for the majority of the year I'm down in North
Carolina (at Elon University).

How
are you coming along with the show?

Emilie: It's been
interesting. On paper, the show doesn't look as detailed and as big as it
actually is. And so everybody's been like, "Oh, my gosh, this show is huge!"
But it's great, and what I love about it is, usually, within a show, the
majority of the show falls on the lead or the title character. But what I like
about this is everybody in the ensemble, or any supporting characters,
everybody does just as much as I do. And I love that, because I love seeing
people dance.

It's that big
Disney musical that everybody loves.

Act 1 has a
handful of production numbers.

Emilie: It's wonderful;
it's great. But it's been really hard this week, because it's a lot of
choreography. But we have such a great team, and they cast really amazing people.
It's come together and we're very excited.

Both Renier and
Barsoian offered high praise for their castmates and for choreographer Anne
Beck.

What should people
expect from this show? Is it geared primarily for children? For families? What
should our mindset be coming into this?

John: I guess just
experience magic. It's really - the way I see it, it plays to every age,
because the magic in it is so wonderful for children. Even for me, I still get
so enthralled by the magic.

With "Mary
Poppins" comes so many life lessons geared towards parents and children and
families that it really speaks to everyone. And that's what's so wonderful
about the show.

Emilie: What's great is
that Randy (Kramer), our director, we were just talking about one of the
scenes. Mr. Banks is in the bank, and the kids come in and there's this whole
scene about whether he's going to give a chance to a good man or somebody who
has a good idea. And is a good idea or a good man better?

And so we were
talking about this, and talking about why Mary Poppins is there. ... And as we're
talking about this, both of us are going, "Oh, wait, I could learn a lesson
from this."

So it's fun,
because we're also being reminded of these things.

It's a little
darker. I think that's something to remember. It's much closer to the book.

It's very British
- British humor. But it still has that same warmth and happiness and magic.

We're having fun.
I get to snap my fingers and things happen a lot. He gets to do it every once
in a while, and I'm always like, "You're stealing my thunder!"

So, we're having a
lot of fun. How often do you get to snap your fingers and things appear? It's
pretty cool.

And I get to fly.
That's cool.

John: No big deal!

That's
a pretty big part of this show.

Emilie: I've done "Peter
Pan" before, and I've flown in that. It is, like simultaneously, one of the
coolest experiences that you'll ever have, and it's also kind of terrifying,
because, being the person being flown, you don't have a whole lot of control.
It's really being controlled by the people off stage. But I think it's going to
be so cool.

You can't do "Mary
Poppins" without her flying.

How
do you think you'll do singing and acting in the air?

Emilie: We'll see! I'm
sure it will be great. That's what's great about Artpark is that every time I'm
like "Ahhhh. Am I going to be able to do this?" They just make it possible.
Between George and Randy and our choreographer, Anne, and (production manager)
Susan Stimson, the most incredible stage manager you could ask for, things just
magically happen.

They get it done.
I'm sure it will be fun.

Emilie, this is
your third iconic character in three years. What can you tell me about Mary
Poppins?

Emilie: She's such a cool,
cool, lady. Going into this, I didn't think I'd fall in love with her like I
am, but Randy and I have talked a lot about her. I had this question of is she
a real person? Is she magic? What is she? We decided she's a magical person who
has human qualities. So, she does feel things for the children, but she's
primarily there as somebody to teach lessons and bring this family back
together - which happens every day in real life. Families fall apart and we go
through troubles and hardships.

She's like that
little bit of magic that somehow gets us through these problems. It's really
cool.

It's also cool
that this is the third Julie Andrews character that I've played. And what an
amazing woman to be in the footsteps of.

It's fun to sing
the songs - songs that we've grown up listening to and singing along with in
the shower. It's really fun. And I get to work with one of my best friends. ...
That doesn't happen all that often.

In December, I was
at Artpark and they were talking about "Mary Poppins." Everybody there was
like, "Emilie." What does that mean to you, to be the star of their show?

Emilie: It means the
world. It really does.

The thing about
theater is that you meet these people and you fall in love with the people. I
have fallen in love with this town, and this company, and the people who run
it. And I would follow them anywhere. And it means a lot that they have been so
loyal.

It makes my job
easier. When I know and care about these people so much, it makes me want to go
the extra mile for them. And it doesn't happen that often - at least not in my
experience yet - that people are this loyal. It is really, really special, and
I could not thank them more. Truly.

They have given me
three incredible roles. I didn't ever think I'd be able to play these roles
back to back in one place. That's amazing. It blows my mind.

Who gets to play
Mary Poppins - and then Cinderella two years before? It's crazy. I'm very, very
lucky. I could not love them more and thank them more. It's amazing.

Tell
me about Bert.

John: Bert is a
wonderful person. The way I see Bert is he just wants to make everyone happy.
He's there to put a smile on your face, even when you may think the world is
collapsing.

That's what I love
about him. He really just wants the world to be happy, and I think that's such
a beautiful thing to have that in our life.

Tell
me about the relationship between Bert and Mary Poppins.

John: Bert and Mary
Poppins - it's a funny relationship, because P.L. Travers, who wrote the book,
she doesn't want any romantic relationship between them at all. Even if you
read her books, you kind of get a sense of that. They're just, like, these
wonderful friends.

The musical,
however ... there's a slight notion that there's something more. We've talked
about it a lot, because, I guess in my mind, how can there not be, because I
love this woman! (Both laugh.)

But, truly, Bert
just, even in a non-romantic way, Bert just loves Mary Poppins for who she is.
And their relationship is complicated, because she's not always there. But when
she is, Bert is always there for her.

I love that.
That's what I love about him: He'll always be there for you.

One of things I've
written about you, Emilie, and that I've heard from others, is that you're very
magnetic. What do you think is the key to being magnetic?

Emilie: I've always
appreciated when I see performances and I recognize that, whoever's the lead,
that they are the most giving person, and they let other people take the spot.

I think, as long
as you're true and honest on stage, and you're listening and responding, and
you're being true to the character, and you're not being selfish. ... I feel like
people can tell when you're performing, and when it's about you - when you're
performing and you're doing it to get the gratification of the people saying,
"Congratulations; you were wonderful." I think those people are doing it for
the wrong reason.

Keeping it in
perspective and surrounding yourself with people who are going to keep you
keeping it in perspective (helps). ... I don't know how to do it, really.

John: I think, for
Emilie's case, a lot of it does have to do with just being a giving actress. It
really, I think, comes down to just Emilie as a person. She's such a wonderful,
loving person that, when you see her on stage, you're drawn to her. Because she
just wants to make a connection with you. So, as an audience member, you feel
like, "Oh, my God, she's singing to me. It's all to me." I think that really
goes down to who she is as a person.

You've got some
pretty high-profile songs. Is that exciting? A challenge? Nerve-wracking?

Emilie: It is a
challenge, because Julie Andrews is so wonderful that you listen to it, and
you're like, "Oh, that's easy." Then you go to sing it, and you're like, "Oh,
man." But it's exciting.

When I saw this
show, I want to say it was early high school/late middle school. I saw it on
Broadway with Ashley Brown as Mary Poppins, who's one of my idols. I remember
seeing it and being like, "I'm going to do this show one day." So, I've kind of
always sung along to the soundtrack. I came into it being familiar with the
songs already, but it is - it's a challenge. Because then you add the magic,
and you add dancing and walking and talking. ...

John: Flying.

Emilie: Flying, and all
this stuff on top of it. And, suddenly, you're like, "I can't think straight!"
But it's fun. It's like a little puzzle that you kind of have to piece
together.

But, of course,
Bert has just as many iconic songs.

John: Yeah, and I think
what's so successful about this show is, when it was created, they didn't try
and just take the movie and put it into a show. They really looked at it again
and thought, "How can we make this better? How can we change this and really
make it more true to the books?" Which I really appreciate and love.

The way it's
created, even some songs are a little out of order than the movie. The way it
ends is a little different.

Emilie: Some of the
characters have a little different spin.

John: The way the songs
are arranged is just beautiful. ... But it is a challenge. You have these iconic
songs, and you have to think, "How can I make these new and fresh on my own?"
Because I don't want to go up there and try and be Dick Van Dyke. I mean, as
much as you would love to be Julie Andrews. ...

Emilie: No one's Julie
Andrews!

John: No one's Julie
Andrews. It's a definitely a challenge, but I think that's what's so exciting
is that it is a challenge, and that we want to take on that challenge.

Emilie: And that we're
surrounded by people who won't let us go out there being less than our best,
which is really wonderful.

What
do you think the audience reaction to this show will be?

Emilie: "Mary Poppins" has
all the things an audience wants. They have all those iconic songs. You have
your magic. You have Mary Poppins snapping her fingers and things being
restored.

John: It's definitely a
story of redemption and finding happiness.

Emilie: It's important to
realize that Mary Poppins isn't about Mary Poppins. It's about restoring faith
- is the word that Randy keeps using - in your family, and remembering what's
important in life.

For a list of
"Mary Poppins" show times and dates, or to purchase tickets, visit www.artpark.net.